Not So Ordinary Teenage Days
by lonernekonin
Summary: We all want something exciting to happen in our lives but can you handle it once it has happened? Ava is just another average teenage girl in high school living her ordinary life until she meets some new friends that are not you ordinary teenagers. How will Ava adjust to this new new life with her new friends? Rated M for later chapters. LeoXOC With a little DonnieXApril.
1. Chapter 1

Not So Ordinary Teenage Days

Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I have to work on my other fanfictions but I have wanted to write a story with Leonardo. I hope to review my other stories and fix the errors in them while also writing new chapters. I am a little busy as of late but I will try to stay consistent with updates. Reviews do help guys, so please review. When you review please give me advice, point out flaws, or points that you liked as well.**

**TMNT © Nickelodeon**

**Ava © Me**

**Please enjoy and Review afterwards.**

Everyone wonders at least once in their life if anything extraordinary, supernatural or exciting will happen to them in their life time. It's more common as a teenager because we have such open minds to the world that we hope for these things to happen only when they do we are not sure if we want it any more or if we can handle it the way we expect ourselves to. In life no one can predict how they will react to strange things that can be out of our control. High School is enough of a struggle as it is with enough events to keep everyday a challenge.

For Ava, High School was enough of a hassle as it was with all her classes and not to mention her part-time job at the pizza parlor. Although, she did loved the sweet aroma of the pizza baking in the oven during work it was not all bad and she did get free pizza often as well. She would take home all the pizza she wanted but she would eat every last bite, even if she was about to puke she just loved pizza. Then again, who doesn't like pizza?

Mornings were always the worst to Ava and it took her a long while to get herself out of bed which is why she had her alarm go off every fifteen minutes an hour before she actually had to be up and get ready for school. So once the alarm had gone off twice she took it off snooze and slowly sat up in her bed. Her auburn hair tousled about from her sleep she ran her hands through her hair to smooth it out with an irritated huff passing her lips. A yawn followed her sigh and she rubbed at her eyes tiredly.

"Man, I hate mornings…" She breathed out loud. Slowly she got out of bed to reveal her blue sleeping shorts with a blank tank top.

She always wore tank tops and it was a known fact by her classmates and family she owned nearly ten or more of them. Scratching her head and ruffling her hair Ava reached her closet and opened it, grabbing a grey tank top and pair of acid wash skinny jeans. Undressing herself she put on a clean bra and underwear before getting fully dressed. Black high top lace up boots and a grey plaid button up she left open were the last articles of clothing to be put on before she made her way to the bathroom to wash her face and brush out her hair.

"Stupid hair!" Ava grunted, brushing out a knot in her medium length hair before putting it in a half up half down style. The part that was up she braided both sides of a top section of hair and tied it with a simple black hair tie. "Alright, I'm ready." She nodded at herself in the mirror I approval of her appearance.

Ava was a pretty average teenage girl on the outside but inside she was full of curiosity and her mind was always drifting. She was a daydreamer since she was a child but she knew her life would always be less than ordinary. Her looks were pretty average as well. With her medium length auburn hair, deep brown eyes with an interesting golden hazel to them. Her body form was average for her age of sixteen. Her chest was an average size and her wait was slightly developed but the most noticeable thing would be her hips and legs but that was only because she was always walking everywhere and running around town from school to home and then to work as well.

Making her way downstairs to the kitchen she yawned again, "Morning," her greeting was cut off when she saw no one but instead she saw a note. "Hm, 'I will be home late again tonight but I assume you were going to have pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner again anyway. Be sure to at least eat a banana before school. Have a good day. Love, Uncle Jessie.' Yeah, yeah I'll eat a banana and go to school." Shaking her head at the letter she grabbed the last banana and ate it. Tossing the letter into the trash can on her way out.

The teen girl snatched her bag and left with her headphones connected to her music player. She always made sure to have music on when she walked, people left her alone that way. She wasn't antisocial but she preferred to get to school without being bothered. She had a few friends but she wasn't one to really hang out much, she enjoyed her alone time after school. A lot of the other teens at school really irritated her but she managed to survive their stupidity.

"Casey shoots," A boy on rollerblades outside the school shot a hockey puck in no general direction only to hit someone in the arm, "he scores...!"

"Ouch! Casey Jones!" Ava shouted, turning to look at her childhood friend.

"Oh, sorry Ava!" Casey rushed over and retrieved his puck while Ava glared at him, rubbing her arm, "hey, are you going to my hockey game Saturday night?" The boy asked when Ava removed her headphones and rested them around her neck.

"First of all, owe!" She socked him in the arm and he groaned in response, rubbing his arm, "and secondly, I'll try to make it if I can I don't know my work schedule yet." Frowning at him she shoved her hands into her pants pockets.

"Man, you're no fun. You're in high school what do you need to work for?" The hockey player huffed but he knew the reason.

He had known her since they were kids and knew that she lived with her uncle because her mother was in the hospital fighting breast cancer and hasn't been able to leave for a long while. Ava wanted to help bring some money into the house since her uncle was doing everything on his own for her and her mother. Her parents had divorced because her father wasn't a reliable man after he lost his job and pretty much gave up since the company he worked for shut down. Her aunt had a job that had her traveling the world but she was home at least once a month for a week or so.

"You know why, Casey, I promise I'll do my best to make it but I cannot promise I will be there. I need to go to class now. I'll see you at lunch Casey." With a faint smile she turned and left her friend to his hockey puck and hockey stick.

He was actually really smart despite how he acted but when it came to math he was just as good as her, which wasn't very reliable when it came to studying together after school. It usually ended in them eating pizza or going skating. Ava did roller blade but not every day.

The day was a pretty usual day, boring and uneventful. After class she decided to grab her skates from her locker from the day before and shoved her boots into her bag. Today was a roller blade day for Ava but she couldn't blade without her music. Placing her head phones on and selected a playlist and put her bag back over her shoulders.

"Yo Ava!" Casey called and waved, "I hope you can make it Saturday, if not I'll see you Tuesday!"

Ava waved back and pressed play on her music player before placing it into her pocket and headed off down the street. She had to make a few stops on the way home so she enjoyed the ride there on her skates. She dodged pedestrians with ease and skill while grinding when she could find a decent ramp. The first stop was the music store. She had ordered a new album from one of her favorite groups. The second stop was the skate shop, she needed a new set of blades but they would have to be ordered since her skates were custom.

"Alright, expect the order within the next couple of weeks."

"Alright, thanks." Waving to the employee she left and bladed back down the street, it was getting dark and she would rather not be on the streets at night. It was New York after all and there were purple dragons and other strange things lurking in the allies.

Actually there had been reports of strange events all around the city but with all the waste in the world she assumed it was just evolution and adaptation that animals were going through. Although she thought that her curious and imaginative part of her mind liked to believe it was like a mutation from some secret organization that was experimenting on animals. She didn't like it though. How could anyone use an animal for such selfish reasons?

On the way back home she skated past a few allies that she knew in the back of her mind was part of the Purple Dragon's territory but didn't pay any attention. The song changed and she got lost in the tune. A ramp was coming up so she crouched for a moment and leapt into the air, landing skillfully on the sidewalk ramp, grinding on it until it ended and landed back on the pavement. She sped up. The streets empty enough for her to be able to go at a better speed than usual.

She saw another ramp and got ready for a grind but as soon as she was about to jump something passed her and knocked her off her balance, "Whoa!" She fell to the ground and skidded for a few moments, scraping her forearm. "What the heck?!" Ava grumbled in frustration, looking to the ally only to stare in curiosity and confusion.

"Kraang, the ones called the turtles that are turtles have come to the place where Kraang are in the place of where the turtles have arrived."

"What the heck?" Ava cocked a brow at the way the men in suits talked, "wait, turtles?" She slowly stood but ducked when more shots were fired. "Okay what is going one?" She watched the men in suits firing endless shots at four figures that were moving in the shadows so swiftly she couldn't make them out but their bodies seemed awkward but they moved so gracefully, like ninja.

"Ha, that's funny Ava. There are ninja in New York. Riiight," She shook her head at her thoughts but she grew curious and skated to the ally, hiding by the wall and peering around the corner to watch the scene.

"Booya-kasha!" The shortest of the four shouted, hitting one of the men in suits that called themselves the Kraang with a nunchaku. That was a ninja weapon, were they really ninja? "Oh yeah Mikey's go the moves!" He cheered while dodging another attack and kicking the Kraang.

She watched and they were easily taking out the Kraang as they just shot their weapons or moved very stiffly when trying to do hand to hand combat. She noticed something in the shadows, not one of the four figures. A blade shone in the dim light and her eyes widened. The figures were so preoccupied they hadn't noticed the figure in the shadows but she did.

_I hope that don't regret this._ She thought as she got up and sped into the ally with her skates. She jumped over one of the four figures and landed on the trash can, kicked off of it and crashed down on the figure that was in the shadows. Her skates hit them right in the jaw and she heard a loud crack.

"Ouch, that sounded like it hurt." She hissed as if she shared the pain she had just inflicted on the person. "What, a ninja, really? Okay, I'll just go along with it," She turned around and noticed everyone staring at her but she stared back just as intensely, "turtles…" She saw four giant turtles with human like feature. "Anthropomorphic turtles with ninja weapons." She let out a huffed chuckle but then saw another ninja appear behind one of the strange turtles, "okay I am freaking out right now but, blue behind you!" She spoke quickly and shouted, pointing behind the one with the blue headband.

"What?" He turned around and blocked the ninja's attack easily, kicking him away causing him to stumble and get grabbed only to be thrown into the van that was in the ally. The three other turtles turned to defeat the rest of the Kraang before the strange men retreated in their van.

Ava didn't want to be in the way but one of the ninja came after her and she ducked, gliding on her blades and spinning round, knocking him off his feet and just as he was about to hit the ground the one with the red head band jumped over Ava and grabbed the ninja, tossing him into the wall with his weapon that she assumed was a sai, to his neck.

"We can do this the easy way or the way I like it, the hard way." He taunted and the ninja kicked him back. He almost landed on Ava but the blue head banded turtle grabbed her out of the way.

"Be careful Raph!" He called to his turtle friend then looked down at the girl, "are you alright?" He asked ad she noticed the way he spoke he was so firm and cautious like a leader.

Her eyes were wide and she still couldn't believe there was a huge talking turtle with ninja training helping her. She blinked and nodded slowly, "Y-yeah!" She wiggled out of his grasp and stood on her skates, "I'm fine!" She waved her hands at him to assure him she was fine, "whoa!" She grabbed the turtles' arm and tugged him away from the ninja star that flew their way. She fell to the ground with the turtle next to him. "Okay, we're even now go do you're um…ninja turtle thing and I'll just get your way." She got up and sped away on her skates but turned around to look at the turtles again.

"Leo the rooftops!" The purple one called to the blue one, pointing to the roofs. Ava looked up when Leo did and saw more ninja, "there are too many foot ninja we have to go!"

"Alright Donnie, let's try and make a break for it!" Leo ordered, knocking away another foot ninja and jumping up the fire escape to the rooftop to take care of the Foot Ninja that were there.

Ava got their names down, Mikey, the orange one, Donnie the purple one, Raph the red on and finally Leo, the blue one. She watched them fight and wondered if she should leave or not. She always wanted something like this to happen but at the same time she wasn't sure what to do. She was sure she was going crazy.

"Look out!" She heard Leo shout and it snapped her from her thoughts but she was hit with a kunai in her upper back near her right shoulder. Leo watched as the girl froze for a moment, as if in shock then turned her head to look over her shoulder. He saw the pain cross her features and she slouched over, grabbing onto her arm in an attempt to lessen the pain.

"Crap, crap, crap!" She repeated as the pain surged through her body and she grabbed onto the kunai, "ah!" She let go and couldn't pull it out, it hurt too much and tears started to surface. "No I am really freaking out! There are anthropomorphic turtles with ninja weapons and there is a freaking kunai in my shoulder!" She saw a ninja rush at her and she ducked the glided out of the way but it hurt to move, "crud!" she stumbled from the pain and the ninja grabbed her by her leg and tossed her aside which caused the kunai to sink deeper into her from the impact. She cried out in pain and saw some white lights flash before her vision.

"Hold on!" Donnie shouted and rushed over to her side to get the Foot Ninja away from her. He knocked him back from where he stood and the ninja stumbled from the impact. He was surprisingly strong for how tall and lean he was. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, carefully moving her to sit up.

"Hn, what?" She slurred and groaned. Her back filled with pain she tried to focus on the one talking to her. "I…uh…owe." Was her reply as she looked around her, everything as blurred and she looked at Donnie who gave her a worried look before he shouted something at the other turtle's. She saw them run to where she and Donnie were, meeting Leo's gaze for a brief moment before she passed out from the pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Not So Ordinary Teenage Days

Chapter 2

**A/N: I am sorry that the first chapter was so short but I promise I will try to make the chapters longer as I myself enjoy longer chapters. Please give me some feedback and let me know if I should work on anything. I do know that my last chapter had a few mistakes so I will try to read over the chapter more slowly so that I can catch my mistakes. As always, please enjoy and give feedback.**

**TMNT © Nickelodeon**

**Ava © Me**

**Please enjoy and Review afterwards.**

Slipping between consciousness and the grasp of her pain Ava heard the turtles rambling around her about getting back to their lair and stopping the bleeding. Every step Leonardo took sent a jolt of pain through her body and every few times he would apologize. Soon she was completely blacked out, breathing slowly. A few whimpers left her lips from the pain but she didn't wake up.

"Lay her on the couch!" Donnie shouted as soon as they got to the lair. Rushing to his lab he grabbed what he would need to take care of her wound.

Leonardo placed her carefully on her stomach on the couch and saw all the blood that soaked her button up shirt. How could this happen? He should have helped the girl escape so that she couldn't get hurt. When Donnie returned he set all the tools down next to him and examined the wound. He muttered to himself, grabbing the scissors to cut open her button up. Thankfully her tank top left her skin exposed so that he didn't have to cut through it.

"Mikey go and get a bowl of warm water and a couple cloths." Donnie ordered and without a word Mikey rushed off to get what Donnie had asked for. When he returned Donnie handed Leo one cloth while the other was put into the water. "I'm going to pull out the kunai and when I do I need you to put pressure on her wound. Raph if she wakes up and starts to struggle I need you to hold her down." Taking a deep breath Donnie carefully grasped the Kunai, "Ready…" He pulled it out swiftly and Leo placed the cloth on the wound. "Keep it there for a while."

Leo nodded and pressed the cloth firmly against her skin and she seemed to groan in discomfort a few times but he didn't lessen the pressure. The blood soaked the cloth and the metallic smell reached his senses. He felt sick. Not from the smell of blood but from the fact that he was so worried about this stranger. She had helped them even though she clearly saw what they were which meant she was like April and that meant she was worth saving. Not that anyone wasn't worth saving in Leo's eyes since he believed everyone's life was important enough to protect. He felt he had failed in protecting her from their enemies. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He trusted that Donnie could patch her up just fine and she could go on with her life.

Donnie got the warm cloth and motion Leo to lift the dirty cloth from her wound. Cleaning up the blood he put some disinfectant on it which made her body try and pull away but didn't move to drastically. Once she was stitched up he put gauze over it when he noticed a bruise on her arm. He wrapped her arm where the bruise was and sat back, his hands dirty from the blood. Getting his tools together Donnie went back to his lab to clean everything and his hands.

"Hey guys!" A girl entered the lair but felt the tension, "Um, what happened?" She walked over to the couch and saw the girl lying on her stomach with blood stained clothes and gauze over her shoulder and her forearm. "Hey, she goes to my school." April spoke slowly when she inched closer to look at the other teen girl's face. She noticed how worried Leo looked and wasn't at all surprised by it. He was always so kind and caring. Enemy, stranger or ally, it didn't matter to Leo. Wondering if Donnie was alright she stepped back from the couch, "Um, I'm going to check on Donnie." Leaving she made her way to the lab and found Donnie sitting at his desk, slouched in his chair and staring at his large turtle hands. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts, "Donnie?" She called softly, her hand placed on his shoulder, "are you okay?"

"Hm," He hummed in reply, gazing up at April with a faint smile, "hey April." He finally replied then sighed heavily and nodded, "yeah I-I'm fine. There was just a lot of blood is all and she was out so badly the pain didn't bother her. I hope she will be okay." He looked away from his human friend with worry clear in his tone.

"I'm sure she will be fine. She had you to take care of her wounds." April assured him which made him smile softly at her comforting words. "So, how about I stick around until she wakes up so she doesn't completely freak out when she wakes up with a bunch of turtles around her."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, thanks April."

"So you see Sensei, we had to bring her here ad April says they go to school together so with April here it should be alright." Leonardo had explained everything to his Sensei, Master Splinter, in hope that he would not be too angry with them for bringing another human to the lair.

"Hm, it was wise to bring her here to get treated, Leonardo. It cannot be avoided that she will wake up and realize that what she saw was indeed real. With April's help she should manage to take the situation smoothly. Just be sure to tell her how important it is to keep up a secret from everyone on the surface."

"Hai, Sensei." Leonardo bowed and stood to leave to check on the girl. He saw April sitting on the couch near the girl who was resting. "So, do you know her name, April?" He asked, glancing at the girl then to April who met Leo's gaze.

"Yeah, her name is Ava." April replied looking to the girl. "We don't really talk much. She's in my trigonometry class and tends keeps to herself." Turning back to her homework she continued the equation that she was working on before Leo walked in.

It wasn't until later that night when Ava moved onto her side and groaned at the pain, "crap…" She hissed, eyes fluttering open. Her vision was blurred but she made out three green figures and felt someone sitting near her head. "What…" Sitting up she grasped her upper right arm in pain, "holy…!" Seething in pain she bit her lip and slouched where she sat. She took a few deep breaths before calming down from the pain. "Okay, owe."

"Good, you're awake," A familiar voice reached her ears and she looked up, blinking a few times to see a giant turtle with a blue head band.

"Ah!" Stumbling back she hit her shoulder against the couch and yelped in pain. "Owe! Owe! Owe!" The teen girl whimpered, grabbing onto her upper arm again. When she recovered from the pain she look at him again and stared as his deep blue eyes looked her over with concern but she didn't ever look away from his eyes. When his eyes met her own he seemed a little curious about how intensely she was gazing into his eyes.

Leo wasn't sure how to respond to a human looking him straight in the eyes upon their first meeting so he held his hand out to the startled teen girl. "Hey, I'm Leonardo, call me Leo." He greeted in his usual calm tone. He saw her blink then watched as her eyes slowly moved to look at his large turtle hand.

"Uh, I'm Ava and I am freaking out right now!" She shook his hand but her voice was forced to stay calm and it made her voice crack slightly. In her mind her thoughts were reeling through her memories as she tried to not freak out. She didn't want to be rude to the one's that saved her. "So it wasn't a dream." She muttered and took in a deep breath, not moving or breathing for a moment. Her eyes finally left Leonardo and roamed around the room then back at the turtle that was crouched before her.

"Um, are you okay?" April asked, placing her hand Ava's shoulder, "maybe you should release your breath?" She saw Ava slowly shake her head as a small squeak left her throat, "okay don't scream but breath."

Ava let out her breath slowly and looked around them and then at April, "You're…from my school." She stated and saw Donnie walk out from his lab, "and you know these guys?" She asked, pointing at Leo and then around the room at the others. April nodded.

"Yeah, they saved me a while back and now they're my friends." April replied, motioning to the turtles with a smile, "they're totally cool, don't worry."

"You shouldn't move around too much right now, Ava." Donnie said while looking at her shoulder, there wasn't any blood so that was good, "in a couple weeks I can take out the stitches but until then take it easy."

"Um okay," She looked to the other two turtles, "Mikey and Raph, right?" She asked, pointing at them, "I remember last night and I remember your names." She heard her phone in her pocket buzz and checked the phone, "oh crud!" She stood quickly only to stumble forward. Leo caught her and sat her back down.

"You shouldn't get up yet, you lost a lot of blood." Leo gave her a gentle smile, "you can rest here until you're able to get up and walk around on your own."

"Thanks…" she looked at her phone and sighed, "Crap I missed work. Wait," She looked up from her phone and at Leo, "stay here?" She asked when her phone rang and startled her. "It's my Uncle Jessie…" She whispered to herself and took a deep breath while all the turtles looked worried about what she would say to her uncle. She tapped the answer button on the screen and held the phone to her ear.

"Hey Uncle Jessie, how was work?" She tried to act normal but as soon as he heard the worry in his voice she frowned, "I'm sorry…yeah I'm alright I just uh…stayed at my friend's place." She looked at Leo then to April, "no not him," She hummed, "her name is April, yeah she's right next to me," motioning April to say something April leaned to the phone.

"Hi, Ava is fine we just had a long study night for a test coming up." April said and grinned at Ava who smiled back in thanks.

"I know, I should have texted you. I just lost track of time and passed out. Yeah…okay, talk to you later. Yeah, I love you too Uncle Jessie. Bye." When she hung up all the turtles sighed in relief, "I'm going to assume that it's important that no one knows about you so I should really thank you for risking your safety by bringing me here and saving me."

"It's no problem bro." Mikey sat next to Ava and grinned childishly, "it's what we do." He stated as if it were no big deal and grabbed the television remote.

Ava noticed that Mikey had small green spots on his cheeks. They were almost like turtle freckles and she thought it was rather adorable. Looking at Leonardo again he gave a nod and stood, sitting on the floor in front of the couch while his brother flipped through the channels.

"It is good to see you are awake," A new voice reached her ears and she turned her head to see who it was only to find a human sized rat. "I am their father, you may call me Splinter." He gave a short bow of his head and Ava gave a nod in reply. "I trust you will keep all of this a secret?"

"Of course," Ava managed a smile, "I promise."

"Thank you." He bowed once more, "If you should need anything I will be in the dojo."

Ava watched Splinter leave the main room and wondered why he sounded like he was from Japan but figured she would know the whole story sooner or later. Her heart was racing and she felt dizzy. This was all so much to take in. She felt overwhelmed and the blood loss was getting to her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to stay in the lair though. She wanted to go home and lay on her soft bed and sleep but she could hardly stand let alone walk herself home. She noticed she was still wearing her skates and took them off.

"Hm," She looked around and couldn't find her back pack it, "where is it?"

"Here," she heard from behind her and saw her bag drop onto her lap.

"Oh," looking behind her she smiled at Raph, "thank you." The red head banded turtle didn't reply with words. He just shrugged and walked off to another area in the lair. Going through her bag she found her shoes and set them aside. Grabbing the water bottle in her bag she uncapped it and chugged it, knowing she would need the water after losing so much blood. "I guess I should call my boss and tell him I won't make it to work." She muttered, dialing a number on her phone. After she explained she had hurt herself while skating home from school and that she couldn't go to work for a few days she hung up with a yawn.

"It's getting late." April shoved her things into her bag, "I should head home now. I'll come over tomorrow Ava and check on you."

"Let me walk you home," Donnie offered in an instant. Ava watched as Donnie seemed to watch April and smiled brightly when she accepted his offer. Everyone said their partings to April before she left.

Leo put on a show that Mikey thought was lame and left to his room leaving just Ava and Leonardo. She noticed he had scooted closer to the television and he looked like a child. It was kind of cute. Well, as cute as a mutant turtle could get. She didn't mind watching the show since she hardly paid any attention to it. Her mind was stuck on everything that was going on.

_I wonder if I can have a normal life after seeing all of this. It's all so surreal that I'm not sure if I am still dreaming or not but this pain in my shoulder says otherwise and the bruise on my arm from Casey is confirming that this is all real._

Her gaze was on Leonardo now as she thought about all these things. "Um," Ava wasn't sure what to ask or say since she had so many things on her mind. "Leo?" She waited a bit for him to reply and as soon as a commercial came onto the screen he turned around to listen to her. He must really like that show. "Thank you for helping me. I'm sorry I got in the way as well, I should have left but I couldn't believe what I was seeing." She rubbed her upper arm with a soft laugh that was almost nervous. "Honestly I don't know what to think right now."

Leonardo listened to every word she had said and the way she looked him straight in the eyes when he spoke really caught his attention. Her voice, although tired and strained, was oddly soft to his ears. Nodding at her words he smiled, "It was not big deal. I'm just glad that you're alright. I'm glad you helped us." He turned back to the television when his show returned to the screen and she sighed.

At least she could go to Casey's hockey game for the first time in a long while. She waited for his show to end before she spoke up again. Leo had moved to sit next to her on the couch and put on a random movie they had laying around their home. She drank the rest of her water and set it in her bag in silence. Her eyes felt heavy and she rubbed them with a quiet yawn when Donnie returned and waved at Ava when she looked at him. She smiled and waved back.

"Do you need any pain killers?" Donnie asked and Ava gave a nod, "alright." Donnie went to his lab but returned shortly after with a bottle of pain killers and a cup of water. Handing them to her he spoke again, "Just take two for now and sleep on your stomach. If you feel any pain or thing there is any bleeding just wake me up. I'm going to bed now, good night."

"Thank you Donnie," She smiled and took the pain killers with the water. Chugging the water and sighing heavily afterwards, "good night." Placing the cup and bottle of pills down next to the couch near her bag she looked back to the television. "Your family is nice." The teen girl spoke up, eyes not leaving the television. "I don't know the story but you seem to have a really nice life down here. I mean, it must be difficult but I bet it's nice to have brothers and a father." She didn't know what she was saying but she hated silences. "I mean," She laughed softly and looked at Leo who had been looking at her the whole time she was talking. "You all seem very nice and your father seems to really care about you all to have kept you all safe for so long."

Leonardo couldn't help but smile at how she had come up with all that without even knowing them very long. Again Ava was looking him straight in the eyes and he noticed a hint of gold in her brown eyes. She had light freckles sprinkled across her cheeks and nose but they were faint the light of the lair. Her hair was messy from the fight and the run back to the lair. Noticing he was staring he looked away and let his gaze rest on the television again.

"My brothers can be a handle full, mostly Mikey and Raph but I do really care about my family. Master Splinter is a great father and an even greater ninja." Leo replied finally, his fingers tapping his knee pads nervously. He didn't know what to talk about, "so, you live with your Uncle?"

"Yeah I do, he's really cool." She smiled not only at his question but at how he spoke about his brothers so fondly and also about his father with so much respect. "My Mom is sick and I don't know where my Dad is so I am living with my Uncle. No siblings though." She added the last part with a chuckle. Another yawn left her lips. "I think the pills are kicking in."

Leo gazed back at Ava and saw how tired she looked and figured it was time to go to bed. "I'll get you a blanket and pillow." Standing he left to another room for a short while to grab an extra blanket and pillow or Ava. He wondered what her mother was ill with and if she ever got lonely without any siblings around. He couldn't imagine not having his brothers with him. When he returned he saw she had fallen sleep sitting up with her good shoulder against the couch. He smiled and placed the pillow down on the couch. Carefully the turtle moved her to lie down on her stomach and put the blanket over her.

She moaned softly in her tired state and glanced at Leo through her heavy lidded eyes. "Thank you, Leonardo." She whispered and rubbed her cheek against the pillow, "good night."

"Good night." Leo whispered back. He turned off the television and any lights that had been left on before he left her to rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Not So Ordinary Teenage Days

Chapter 3

**A/N: I know I said that the updated chapters would be longer but I have actually been busier than I have ever been in months. I'm moving out of state in a few months so I am trying to spend my days off with my friends as much as I can before I go. I know the story has started pretty slow but I hope it will pick up soon. If you have any ideas please feel free to leave them in a review and maybe I'll even write a chapter with events of my favorite idea suggested by you guys.**

**TMNT © Nickelodeon**

**Ava © Me**

**Please enjoy and Review afterwards with your thoughts and comments.**

Even though Ava had slept soundly thanks to the pain killers when she woke up her whole body surged in protest. She could barely sit up without whimpering in pain. Her body felt stiff when she tried to stretch but the stitches on her shoulder wouldn't let her completely stretch. She heard sounds from the dojo area and wondered if they were training. She wanted to watch but she couldn't get up just yet since she was too sore.

"I guess I'll do my homework." She muttered, pulling her binder and text book from her bag to study for her classes. She still couldn't believe where she was and who she was saved by. Her mind wondered during her studies and hadn't noticed the boys walking into the room and sitting on the couch and floor to watch television.

"Ava?" Mikey poked her arm to get her attention. She seemed startled and snapped her head up from her book to look at Mikey who sat next to her, "did you hear me?"

"Sorry, I was kind of lost in thought. What did you say?" She smiled apologetically for not paying attention to the youngest of the four. He seemed to not mind as his big blue eyes watched her.

"I was asking if you wanted pizza, we were going to order some and have April pick it up." Mikey seemed excited about the pizza when he asked, holding his strange phone in his hand. It looked like a turtle shell, which was kind of neat.

"I work at a pizza parlor, I can get a discount." She pulled out her phone but her arm was grabbed by Mikey, "um," she looked at him, his baby blue eyes shining at her, "what?"

"You work at a pizza parlor?!" Mikey asked excitedly and she nodded slowly, "You're the coolest person ever!" He cheered, hugging her arm and she couldn't help but laugh at him and his childish behavior.

"Yeah, I am pretty awesome." She boasted jokingly. Dialing her work she called and ordered their pizza for them, "oh well, my friends are coming over to check on me and help me study so we're ordering pizza." She explained to her manager, "thanks, yeah I should be able to work next weekend. Yeah. A girl named April will be picking up my order. Thanks boss. Bye." Hanging up she smiled at Mikey who got up and cheered, doing a dance and then left to play a video game.

The day seemed to be passing by so slowly to Ava and even with April to talk to for a little while over it still passed slowly. Ava kept to herself when April left to train with Master Splinter. She had her headphones on while she finished her homework and moved to her book she had been reading the past week. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out to see a text from Casey asking if she could make it to his hockey game that night.

"Hey guys," she called, removing her headphones so she could hear their reply, "I know you want me to stay here for another night just in case but my friend has a hockey game tonight and I told him I would go if I could." She looked up from her phone to the guys who looked to Leonardo. She assumed he was the leader of the group so she met his gaze, "could I?"

Leonardo shrugged and stood from where he sat in front of the television, "I don't see a problem with it but can you get up and walk around?" He asked and saw her expression of concern. He saw her stand slowly and her face twitched, as if trying to show she was in pain but she did her best to hide it. Taking a few steps her body screamed in protest and her head started to spin. She had been sitting to long and got a head rush along with her blood loss she still needed rest but she wanted to watch Casey's hockey game. She walked over to Leo and stumbled part way only to pout and cross her arms with difficulty.

"I'm fine." She assured him but she knew he wasn't going to buy it, "please, he's my best friend and I need to go home anyway to take a shower and get a change of clothes." She protested instantly then realized that she didn't need their permission to leave. "Actually I don't need your permission." She walked to her back pack and put her things away. She put on her roller blades and turned to face them, "Thanks again for your help guys. I'll be sure to bring some pizza over some time." She glided past them and to the exit when Leonardo ran after her.

"Ava, wait." He called and got in her way, "let us walk you there," He saw Ava glance at him in curiosity, "just to be safe." He offered with a smile and she couldn't say no to him so she nodded and the others joined her.

They escorted her out of the sewers and to the surface. It was already so dark outside and she was worried she might be late for the hockey game. Glancing at her phone Ava sighed as she saw she didn't have much time before it would start. She walked the streets while the turtles stayed on the rooftops and kept an eye on her. She paid no mind and listened to her music while thinking about what she said to the turtles. It was rude but it was true. She was just glad that Leo let her leave because she would have protested or pouted until he let her go. Casey was her best friend and she used to go to every one of his games before she started working.

"Alright guys, we should probably patrol while we are out so Raph and Mikey you two go search the east side of the city and meet up back at the check point in two hours." Leonardo ordered when they reached the next rooftop, "Donnie and I will check the west side tonight after Ava makes it to the skating rink." He turned his attention back to Ava who skated across the street and jumped to the next roof top. He wondered if she really would visit again like she said she would. Mostly because he knew Mikey would never stop talking about her now that they knew she worked at a pizza parlor. He also just wanted to see her again. There was something about her that made him feel normal. Well, as normal as a mutant turtle could feel at least.

Ava arrived at the skating rink and removed to skates. She replaced them with her boots and turned to look at the roof top. She gave a small smile and a two finger salute to Leonardo and Donatello before she headed inside. She felt tired, hungry, and extremely sore but she could sit and rest during the game. She was glad she made it just in time to get a good seat while the teams practiced their goal shots. When Casey spotted her he waved and she couldn't help but waved back at the huge smile he gave her. It was like old times when she would come to his game every weekend or his practice and watch him play.

The game started and she made sure to cheer for Casey and his team despite how tired she was. He was really good at hockey. He literally slept, breathed and lived hockey since he was young. He always had a hockey stick with him and his skates too. Ava on the other hand used to take dance until the end of her second year of high school when her mother was hospitalized for the first time. She played the acoustic guitar a too because her mother played her whole life and taught her how to play before she was diagnosed with cancer. Ava actually stopped doing everything that she enjoyed when her mother was hospitalized. She lost a lot of motivation and became so worried she got stressed and sick sometimes. Her mother was special to her but not just because she was her mother but because she was her best friend. Her mother was kind and soft with such a strong heart that Ava admired her mother. Ava was glad she had Casey to keep her company during all of it otherwise she would have fallen apart.

"Dude when I did that sick trick shot and scored the winning goal was epic!" Casey cheered excitedly while he walked Ava home and grinned at her. "I'm glad you made it, I was worried you had work." Casey nudged his friend playfully and it took all she had to not yelp in pain and laugh it off with a playful nudge back.

"Yeah, actually I wiped out on my way home and got hurt then went to a friend's place that was nearby to rest and study." She lied to Casey but it wasn't fully a lie. She never lied to Casey and it made her feel sick to even tell a little white lie. "Anyway, I'm alright just sore." She shrugged it off so that her hockey freak friend wouldn't worry about her. "I haven't seen you play in so long. You have gotten so good you almost looked cool out there."

"Cool enough to fall for me?" He joked with a wink and she giggled at him, "I can't blame ya, you know. I am pretty cool when I'm in action and not to mention handsome." His friend rolled her eyes at him and he laughed, "Hey," he ruffled her hair and noticed it was already messy, "your hair is a mess."

"Oh," She touched her hair with a frown. She didn't fix her hair that whole time she was at the lair. "I rode my blades to the rink so I wouldn't be late." Was her reply with a shrug as if it were no big deal, "Thanks for walking me home Casey." She smiled when she got to her apartment door, "I'll see you at school Tuesday. I'm glad that we have a three day weekend. I can rest for once since I can't go to work with how beat up I was from that wicked fall." She pointed to her forearm and her back, "not to mention the bruise you left on my other arm from your puck." She playfully glared at him.

"Yeah," Casey scratched the back of his neck, "sorry about that Ava. I'll see you at school. Later!" He waved and waited for her to get into her apartment before he left. He was glad that Ava was alright but worried since she seemed a little off. Or it could just be his imagination.

"Finally I'm home." Ava breathed in deeply with her hands on her hips, "Alright, first things first," making her way upstairs the teen grabbed her pajama shorts, a clean tank top and underwear before she headed to the bathroom to shower.

Turning on the water she made sure it was warm enough and then stripped down so she could step into the shower. She removed the gauze carefully but still groaned at the slight pain and then removed the one on her arm. Frowning at the gauze she tossed it into the trash and got into the shower. Sighing at the warmth she let her hair get soaked but when the water touched her stitches she hissed as it cleaned any dirt away. Once she was done she turned off the water and stepped out to dry off and then got dressed in her pajamas. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned at how tired she looked. She put new gauze over the stitches and left to her bedroom. She spotted her guitar in the corner and debated on playing it or not. Shrugging she decided it couldn't hurt to play a little and picked it up before she made her way to her bed to play a song her mother had taught her. She only played a few chords before she felt a tear roll down her cheek and quickly rubbed it away and then put her guitar back.

"I need to sleep anyway." She told herself when she set her guitar on the stand and stared at it. She frowned at it just before Ava turned on her heel to go to bed. She was careful not to hurt her shoulder and lied down on her stomach which was rather annoying since she usually slept on her back or her side. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep that night with how sore she was but at least the pain wasn't so bad that she couldn't sleep soundly.

She slept in until the late afternoon the next day and was glad she had gotten some good rest. She ate breakfast and watched some television when she passed by the show that Leonardo was watching the other night. Sighing she shut off the television and headed to her room. She picked up her guitar and her notebook that had some songs she had written and decided to finish a few of them. She played for about an hour or so when she got a text.

"April?" She had forgotten that she had given April her number.

April had asked her if she was alright and if she was going to visit the turtles again. Ava texted her back and said that she was alright and also that she was not sure if she was going to visit again. The reply from April told her that Mikey kept talking about the discounted pizza. That made Ava smile and laugh softly. She wasn't sure what to text back. April saw the turtles as her friends but what did Ava see them as? She wouldn't mind having more friends but she had Casey and he was enough. Besides she wasn't sure if she could handle how surreal it all was when she was around them. Then she thought about how they must not have any other human friends and how it must be nice to have friends. Still she didn't feel like walking to the lair since she was still a little sore and wanted to make sure her uncle was alright. Ava told April she would visit the turtles another day and bring pizza for them too. She set her phone down and put her notebook away along with her guitar just as her uncle got home.

"Uncle Jessie!" She rushed out of her room and to the front room where she saw her uncle setting his things down. She hugged him and smiled, "you're home early." She pointed out, helping him with his things.

"They're performing an inspection on the building and the progress so far before we finish the next floor of the building." He explained to his niece. He was a carpenter and architect, which meant he usually worked really late but there were some rare days when he got home early and they would watch movies together or bake sweets. "Tomorrow I have the day off so I was thinking of visiting Mia."

Ava froze and looked slowly up at her uncle with a worried expression. She hadn't seen her mother in a few weeks and missed her but she was scared to see her mother in her current state. It always hurt to see her mother in the hospital bed looking so tired and alone. Ava let out a deep breath, "Alright." She replied before she left back upstairs and closed her bedroom door behind. Taking out her phone she texted Casey and told him that she was going to see her mother.

[Casey] Will you be okay?

[Ava] I'll be fine I'm just scared.

[Casey] I'm sure she's okay. Just try not to worry too much and enjoy the visit.

[Ava] I'll try.

There was a long pause before she sent another text.

[Ava] I started playing my guitar again. I almost finished one of my songs.

[Casey] Really?

[Casey] It's been a while since you've played. You gotta let me hear it when it's done.

[Ava] Sure thing.

[Ava] My uncle is home early so I'm going to go now. I'll keep you posted

[Casey] Alright I'll talk to you later.

[Ava] Later.

She set her cell phone I her pocket and sighed heavily, blowing at her bangs in the process and left the room to make dinner for her and her uncle. The night was relaxing for her and it helped her to calm down before bed. She lied on her stomach in her bed but couldn't fall asleep. She sighed and looked out her window. She wondered if the turtles were out on a patrol again. Ignoring the thought she closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep.

Her heart was racing with anticipation from the moment she woke up the next morning. She wanted to see her mother but what if things had gotten worse? She couldn't handle losing her mother. When they arrived they signed in and got visitor passes so they could go to her mother's room. She stood outside the door with her hand on the door handle before she opened it and saw her mother sitting on the bed, looking out the window.

"Ava," Her mother's gaze met Ava's and she ran to her mother in an instant. Hugging her tightly to her small frame she buried her face into her neck. Her mother's soft hair tickled her nose and cheek. Ava managed to pull away and let her uncle hug his dear little sister. "It's so good to see the two of you again. How is work and school?"

"It's the same." Ava answered simply, sitting on the edge of the bed as she spoke to her mother. "Casey is the same too," She pointed to the bruise on her arm, "and he won his match on Saturday. I was able to go." Her mother smiled at her daughter and turned to her brother. They talked for a while about work and school along with her job when Uncle Jessie asked how the tests were going.

"Actually," Ava saw her mother's expression drop to something grim and Ava felt her chest clench at her heart for a long moment. "They said it has spread to my back." She took Ava's hand and squeezed it but kept her eyes on her brother, "I can't leave yet."

"You mean you won't ever be able to leave?" Ava asked, turning her head to look at her mom then down at their hands. She wasn't a kid anymore so her mother didn't have to try and soften up the bad news. Ava squeezed her mother's hand and bit her lip.

"Ava," Her mother frowned, "sweetheart I promise everything will be alright."

"No it won't. You can't keep treating me like a kid Mom. I know what cancer is. I know how serious it is and I know that once it spreads it won't stop." She kept her voice low as it was strained and tried to hold back her tears. "Stop making promises you can't keep." Everything was quiet for a long while as they all knew the truth of the situation. Ava was acting like a child but she hated it when her mother acted like everything would be okay.

"Just make sure to visit more often for me, okay?" That was all her mother could say in reply and hugged Ava close, "thank you for visiting me today. I love you." She kissed her daughter on the cheek then hugged her brother goodbye.

When they left Ava didn't say anything or look at her uncle as she tried to stay calm. She knew her mother was in a bad state but the cancer had spread to her back so quickly. Sighing heavily she sat in the passenger seat of the car when her Uncle got a phone call from his work and had to drop her off at home and then go straight to work. Once again Ava was left at home all alone. She told Casey about everything then sat in her room listening to music and sulking. She looked at her phone and saw what time it was. She decided to climb onto the roof of her apartment to see if she could spot the turtles. The night air was crisp, cold and smelt wet since it had rained earlier that day. She rubbed her arms and sighed again. Aside from the sirens and sounds of New York it was a rather quiet night. An hour passed and Ava didn't see any sign of the turtles so she started to head back when she heard a loud explosion in the distance and looked in the direction of the noise. It was ear the construction site that her uncle was working at.

Panic and worry filled her so she rushed inside, grabbed her phone and called her uncle but no answer. Getting her skates on and shoving her shoes in her back packs he left the apartment. Swiftly she sped down the streets of New York with nothing but worry filling her thoughts. She arrived at the scene and saw that the construction site was still intact. Her attention left the site and met the scene of Kraang shooting at something. She moved closer making sure to stay hidden. She saw the turtles fighting the Kraang and some strange mutant she didn't know about. Her phone vibrated and her uncle had texted her.

[Uncle Jessie] There was an explosion near the site but everyone is safe and nothing as destroyed. I'm alright and I'll see you when I get home.

A huge sigh of relief left her body when she finished the text and told him she was out so she would see him later then put her phone away. She turned her attention back to the fight. The Foot Ninja from before appear along with a huge mutant dog and a type of fish with robot legs. The Kraang were taken out easily but the turtles seemed to have trouble fighting the new foes. She felt worry fill her again when Leo was knocked back into Raph by the giant mutant dog. Ava watched as the turtles struggled to fight them. They couldn't escape as they were surrounded. She felt she had to help but what could she do? She was just a teenage girl with roller blades. Looking around she was sure there was something from the construction site that she could use. Her eyes saw a lead pipe and although it might not take down the mutants it could do something against the ninja.

"I'll probably regret this…" She grabbed the pipe and skated out from behind the debris she used to hide herself and at full speed tackled down a ninja that was about to grab Mikey. Ava hit the Foot Ninja as hard as she could in his gut then kicked him in the side of the head. Her skate making a rather loud and pain cracking sound against his skull. The ninja stumbled then passed out. She had learned how to street fight a little but from Casey over the years and boy was she grateful for those lessons. "You okay Mikey?" She asked, turning to her turtle friend.

"Ava, what are you doing here?" Leo asked, surprised to see her but also worried for her safety. "You should get out of here now!" He rushed at the mutant dog again while Raph went for the fish. "It's not safe here!"

"I saw your shells getting beat into the ground, I couldn't just run." Ava protested. Rushing at another Foot Ninja and hitting him in the head with the pipe then turned around only to duck from an attack by another ninja. Donnie was able to take him out and she smiled at him, "cool move."

"What's this? You little freaks made a human friend?" The dog teased with a mocking laugh, knocking Leo over, stomping on his chest. "How cute." He continued to tease the turtles. Mikey rushed at the dog but was knocked away and into a wall with a loud thud.

"Donnie!" Ava called, rushing to his side, "are you alright?" She looked him over but he nodded and stood. "If we take out the ninja can you guys run?" She asked, wanting to help.

"Y-Yeah but you shouldn't be here. Go home." Donnie frowned at her, grabbing his staff from the ground. "We can handle this."

Ava rose her brow at him, hands on her hips, "Oh really?" She nodded to his brothers, "You distract him and I'll get Leo." She skated off with her pipe, hitting another ninja in the back then made a sharp turn to rush at the giant mutant dog. Donnie had managed to get him off of Leo in time for her to grab Leo. "I'm not leaving you guys to get beat up when you saved me. I can't fight but I am fast on my skates." She told Leo with determination, "I'm tired of just sitting back and watching everyone around me getting hurt while I do nothing." She whispered to herself but Leo caught it, "can you fight?" The teen asked, letting the leader stand on his own.

"Yeah," He unsheathed his duel katana, "don't get yourself hurt again." He smirked just before he ran back into the battle. He jumped on into the air and kicked the mutant dog hard in the chest. The mutant recoiled with a yelp but came back with a growl and grabbed Leonardo by the neck, bashing him into the ground and chocking him. The fish mutant seemed to be staggering from the two brother constantly getting at him. Ava watched them fight and gripped the pipe in her hand tighter. She was so useless. Yeah she knocked a few heads but she had just gotten lucky.

"Hey, flea bag!" Ava shouted, pointing her pipe at his face, "you need to learn to play nice, mutt." Rushing at him she let the pipe hang at her side. It scraped on the ground creating sparks with the hiss of steel on the pavement. She saw a ramp from the construction and made a break for it. She jumped the ramp and kicked the dog in the nose. He whimpered loudly, shook his head then knocked her back. She stumbled and groaned but saw the ninja and mutants retreat. She rushed over to Leonardo who was coughing for air.

"That was dangerous," Leonardo frowned at Ava who looked him straight in the eyes, dropped the pipe and shrugged, "but it was pretty cool. I didn't know you could street fight." He grabbed his swords and sheathed them.

"I learned from my friend." She shrugged, "sometimes the other hockey teams would pick fights with him." She looked to his brothers, "I'm glad that you are all okay. I saw the explosion from my roof and thought my uncle had gotten stuck in the middle of it." She looked at the building that was nearly done being built, "he was working on that building."

"Sorry," Donnie apologized, "we made you come all the way out here because we caused that explosion. The Kraang made a new device that I had to destroy." He explained but she shook her head.

"As long as you're all okay."

"Those were some cool moves, for a street fighter." Raph spoke up, teasing her. Ava smirked at him and he smirked back.

"Can we have pizza?!" Mikey shouted excitedly.

"I don't have school tomorrow so I can get some pizza if you guys let me stay at your place for the night." They agreed to the deal and headed to the pizza parlor. She talked with her manager and show the wounds on her body but insisted she was okay. She just wanted pizza for her and her uncle. She left the pizza parlor with a few boxes of pizza for them and followed them to the sewers. She was lost in her thoughts though on the way to the lair. She kept thinking about her mother, the explosion and how she was scared of losing her mother and uncle. Not to mention the turtles were constantly in danger when they left the lair at night to patrol. April was also in danger from what it seemed. Everyone around her was in danger and she couldn't do anything to help any of them. Most of all she couldn't help her mother.

"Hey, are you alright?" Leonardo asked when they reached the lair, "You seem to have something on your mind. Need someone to talk too?" He offered to lend his ear but she shook her head her eyes meeting his for a moment before she pulled away. She was hiding her thoughts from him. "Okay," He shrugged, taking a slice of pizza and watching the television.

"Actually," She started quietly, looking back at Leo, "I saw my mother today…her cancer spread to her back." She took a slice for herself and took a bite. She stayed quiet for a long while and grabbed another slice, "she's…" Ava felt tears in her eyes and she sniffled, "she's going to die…" she finally said it aloud and thought it for the first time ever. She shoved the slice of her greasy food into her mouth and sniffled again. Grabbing another slice to shove into her mouth while tears rolled down her cheeks.

Leonardo watched her eat and shed tears and realized Ava must have been running from the truth of her mother's condition but finally acknowledged it for the first time. He didn't know what to say or do so he paced his hand on her shoulder and she looked at him. When she swallowed her food he gave her a soft smile. There wasn't anything he could say or do to fix it or help her but he could just be there for her. Mikey and the others stared at her then at each other. There was nothing they could say to help her. They were helpless.

"Damn it," Raph grumbled, holding a small pet turtle in his hands she remembered he had called spike. He held Spike up to her face and she watched the pet turtle chew on his leaf. "Spike doesn't want you to cry so you should just stop it already. If there is nothing you can do then why cry over it? I know it sucks but I mean…man it's lame to cry, okay?" Raph put spike on his shoulder and grumbled to himself. Ava knew it was probably hard for Raph to try and cheer her up.

"All you can do is spend as much time with her as possible, right?" Mikey asked, big baby blue eyes watching her and his genuine smile made her smile softly past her sadness and frustration. "Dude, just try and have some more memories with her." He stated simply, taking another slice of pizza and eating it quickly.

Donnie nodded in agreement with his younger brother and gave her a big smile. His gap between his teeth made her smile back. He had a cute smile and it was so kind. Ava wasn't sure why she was able to cry in front of the turtles and she also wasn't sure why she had told them what was on her mind but it seemed to be so easy to talk to them.

"Ava, we'll be her for you if you need us. We can't do anything but you can talk to us at any time." Leo's hand on her shoulder gave a gentle squeeze, "you're our friend now." He saw Ava's eyes widen slightly and meet his gaze. She felt more tears fall and Leo's own eyes widened. Had he said something wrong?

"Friends," She repeated, "yeah we're friends now." She finally had more friends. She had Casey and she adored her hockey obsessed friend but she finally had new friends. The turtles and April as well as Master Splinter. She ate another piece of pizza and looked at the television, "I'm okay." She assured them all. The teenage girl had let out all her frustration and sadness on the ninja earlier and she was able to cry a little too. Ava felt lighter now. She felt she could keep smiling if she had her friends. She was okay for the moment but she knew when the time came that she would lose her mother she would need friends to keep her afloat. She would need them to help her through it and she would need to be there for her uncle too. For now she would enjoy every memory she had of her mother until then.


	4. Chapter 4

Not So Ordinary Teenage Days

Chapter 3

**A/N: I am so sorry for all of the errors in the past chapters. I will try to re-read everything more than once to try and keep as little errors as possible. I know this story is still a little slow but I promise it's going to pick up but it will be very emotional.**

**TMNT © Nickelodeon**

**Ava © Me**

**Please enjoy and Review afterwards with your thoughts and comments.**

The past week went by like any normal week except when Ava visited the turtles twice that week. She made sure to bring the pizza she promised Mikey both times she visited. April was there as well and it seemed like it was normal for her to visit nearly every day. Ava wondered if she would visit every day like April did. It didn't hurt but she did have to spend time with Casey too. She was glad that she could go back to work and keep her mind off of everything that had happened although, she wasn't expecting such a strange pizza order Saturday night.

"Thank you for calling The Party Pizza Parlor, my name is Ava what can we do for you tonight?" She answered the phone so casually like she normally would when she heard a familiar voice. "Mikey?" She asked in a hushed tone. "You want what on your pizza?" Her voice rose above a whisper when Mikey told her what he had wanted to order.

"Give me the phone," Leonardo snatched the phone from Mikey and sighed, "sorry Ava. Mikey likes to go crazy with his toppings. Just get us the usual please." Leonardo had to avoid Mikey so Ava could hear him over the phone clearly. He was actually happy to hear her voice. He hadn't seen her in a couple of days.

"Oh, sure no problem Leo," She inputted their order, "April is going to pick it up, right? Oh, do you mind if I stop by tomorrow to hang out?" She knew she didn't have to ask to visit but she still felt that she should until she got to know them all better.

"You want to come over?" Leo paused, a goofy smile appearing on his face. She actually wanted to come over and was even asking permission. She didn't have any connections to the mutants or the turtles but she still wanted to see them. Leo couldn't help but feel excited about it. "S-Sure, you can come over anytime you want. As long as you keep up your end of the deal and bring pizza for Mikey." He laughed and it made him smile again to hear her laugh with him. Her voice was so sweet to his turtle ears.

"How about I bring something else? I know pizza is awesome but there are other foods." She suggested and Leonardo agreed to it, "Alright, I'll give April the total when she picks it up. Bye." She hung up the phone and saw her manager glance her way, "What?"

"You were really friendly with that boy, Leo," He pointed out and made Ava blush, "is he your boyfriend?" He saw her face grow redder and look away quickly.

"What? No!" Ava blurted out quicker than she had expected, "he's a friend!" She assured her manger who just laughed and claimed he was teasing her and left to check on the rest of the crew. Ava muttered about her boss being weird and took the next order. She heard the door open and greeted the customer when she saw it was April, "What's up?" She asked.

"Oh nothing much," April shrugged, handing the money over for the pizza, "keep the change." She insisted, "So, how are you doing? The guys told me about your mom. If you ever need someone to talk to that isn't, well, the guys. I'm here for you."

Ava couldn't help but smile at her new friend and nod, "Thanks April, I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Though, Leonardo offered first." She laughed and put the boxes in bag for her, "I'll be visiting tomorrow." She told April when she handed her the bag.

"I won't be able to make it. I have a test to study for so I'll see you at school. It's a good thing you will be there though. I'm sure the boys get bored when we're not around sometimes." She smiled and said bye before she left to see the turtles. April was glad there was another person to talk to about the turtles and mutants. She was even happier that it was a girl that she could share some personal things with if she needed too.

After work Ava skated to the hockey rink to see Casey. He always practiced there even when they didn't have any games. She saw him leaving just as she had arrived and smiled, "Hey, Casey!" She called, waving at him. She saw her friend skate towards her and grin his goofy grin which was even goofier with his missing teeth. "I just got off work and thought I would walk home with you. Like old times." She had forgotten how often she used to see Casey but after her mom was hospitalized and after she had gotten her job Ava hadn't seen Casey as much as she used too.

"Awesome," Casey smiled, skating next to her. "So, how is your mom?" He asked, knowing what had happened the last time she had visited her mother. He noticed that Ava had stopped skating and turned to face her, "Ava?" He moved back to her side and looked at her face that was bowed to hide her tears. "Aw man, I didn't mean to make you cry." He groaned, making her look at him, "Ava, I know this sucks and I'm sorry I can't help. You know I that I suck with these kinds of things," He reminded her with a frown but then he gave her a grin, "but I'm here for you. I'm always here for you." He brought her into a hug and held her close, "Like I always have been." Casey had always had a big heart and when it came to Ava he would do anything to make her happy. He would let her cry for hours if she needed too. He would stay up all night talking to her if she needed him too. He would do anything for her.

"Ava," He pulled away and grabbed her face to make his friend look at her and when their eyes met Ava saw something in Casey she hadn't ever seen before. "I really hate seeing you so sad. I hate it even more when you cry and there's nothing I can do to make you feel better…" He hated feeling useless and helpless when it came to protecting the ones he cared about. He had a little sister so he always had this protective side for Ava like he was her big brother even though Ava was more mature.

"Casey?" She muttered and when he didn't say anything she felt nervous. Casey was always talking when she wasn't. He moved closer to her face and she tensed. What was he doing? She watched him and he suddenly stopped his movements. His forehead was touching hers. He was staring straight into her eyes and it made her blush lightly. "Wh-what?" She asked quietly but he didn't reply and just groaned as he pulled away.

"Let's get you home, it's late." He skated ahead of her and kept his hands in his pockets. Casey knew that Ava didn't care for him as much as he cared about her but that wouldn't stop him. He would protect her and be the best friend he could be for her. Even if that meant her happiness came first and also came from another guy. He would support her.

Ava didn't get much sleep that night as she thought about Casey and how he was acting. She sighed heavily and felt guilty for not feeling how he did. She always had a feeling Casey had a crush on her but she never would have thought he cared so much for her. She didn't want to hurt him nor did she want to lose her friend so she always remained natural in their friendship. The next day she got to sleep in when she got a text from Casey.

[Casey] About last night, I was just caught up in the mood and wanted to cheer you up. I hope I didn't freak you out.

Ava stared at the text message for a long while and thought about the night before and blushed. Tapping the keyboard on her screen she texted him back.

[Ava] Don't worry about it.

She decided she would get up and shower before she got ready to leave to visit the turtles. She grabbed a blue tank top and a grey over shirt with a v-neck along with her jeans. After she showered and got dressed she grabbed her bag with her shoes and wallet in it. Ava glanced around the bedroom and decided to bring her guitar. Before she left the house she cleaned the kitchen and left a note for her uncle so he wouldn't worry that she wasn't home. She stopped by a Chinese food place to grab lunch for the guys for her visit. She decided to go by a sushi place that was owned by a Japanese family and ordered a to-go box for Master Splinter. After she had gotten all the food she stopped by a video store to buy some movies for the turtles to enjoy. One her way to an ally she made sure no one had noticed her and climbed down into the sewer.

"Delivery!" Ava announced when she entered the lair, holding up the bags of food, "I brought Chinese for lunch and sushi for Master Splinter. I also brought some movies." She put everything in the kitchen for them and smiled, "I'll bring pizza next time Mikey." She patted his head when he saw it wasn't pizza, "besides, this is good too." She assured him just as Master Splinter had entered the room, "I hope you don't mind. I brought some Sushi just for you." She handed him the container with the sushi, "I'm not sure what you like but I got a few different kinds."

"It is very much appreciated, Ava." Master Splinter thanked the teen girl with a smile making her smile back at him. "Let us all ate." He sat at the table with his sons and their new friend as they ate lunch.

Ava was glad that they enjoyed the food despite the fact that it wasn't pizza. Even Mikey seemed to enjoy it. When lunch was over they cleaned up and then went to watch the movies that Ava had bought. Master Splinter went to his room to meditate while they all enjoyed the movies. She had picked out action, adventure, comedy, cartoon and horror movies for them to watch. She sat next to Leo as they watched the movies while Mikey lied on the floor on his stomach like a child and watched. Raph sat on the other side of Ava but closer to the edge of the couch with Spike and Donnie sat on a cushion on the floor with his laptop. When the action movie was over they put in adventure movie which was a rather long movie. Later when it started to get late Donnie put in the scary movie and Mikey sat close to Raph as he got scared. Ava claimed she wasn't scared but when something loud happened and jumped at the screen she yelped. Her first reaction was to grab onto Leo's arm.

"I thought you said that you weren't scared?" He asked teasingly but blushed lightly as the warmth of her arms around his and the closeness of her made him nervous. He saw her pout at him with a huff and then let go of his arm. "I bet you can't go the rest of the movie without screaming."

"I bet you that I can!" She took on his challenge and for a while she did her best to not scream but she would jump or tense up. When a real jump scare happened she heard Mikey scream and latched onto Leo again. Her heart knocking against her chest she glared at the youngest turtle, "Mikey!" She shouted and kicked him, "don't' scream like that you scared me!" She held onto Leo's arm tighter when her attention was put back onto the television screen. She jumped and hugged his arm tighter but she soon realized how she was clinging to him and felt her cheeks warm up. His arms were strong and his biceps were toned. For some reason she looked up at Leo to find him watching her and their gazes met. His deep blue eyes watched hers until she pulled away from him and muttered, "Sorry." There was something about the tone in Leonardo's eyes that always drew her in. She wasn't sure what it was but she knew it was something that she was curious about.

After the horror movie the turtles had to leave for a night patrol so Ava stayed behind but after watching the scary movie she put on the animated film to calm her nerves. She tried to stay awake to greet the turtles when they returned but she couldn't stay awake and ended up falling asleep on the couch hugging her knees to her chest with her arms rested on her knees.

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	5. Chapter 5

Not So Ordinary Teenage Days

Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the last chapter being so short I hope these next chapters are a bit longer and more satisfying for you all. I still don't have internet access at my place yet but I've been thinking of some good things to write for this story. I'm so sorry it has started out so slowly.**

**Enjoy!**

**TMNT © Nickelodeon**

**Ava © Me**

**Please enjoy and REVIEW afterwards with your thoughts and comments.**

Ava woke up a while later when she heard the turtles return back to the lair. Rubbing at her eyes she looked over at the entrance and saw they had all been badly injured, "What happened to you guys?" She asked, rushing over to help Raph walk Leonardo to the couch. Raph looked hurt just as badly and he was carrying his brother as if it were no problem. He really was sweet at heart. "I'll grab the first aid kit." She rushed off and grabbed the kit, it was rather bulky but it did need to treat the wounds of four ninja turtles. She set it down so that they could treat their wounds and watched as Donnie took special are of his youngest brother's wounds. She looked to Raph who assured her he could wait to be treated and helped Donnie with one of his wounds. "Raph is rough on the outside but he's got a good heart."

"Yeah," Leo sighed, eyeing Ava and he was a little surprised she could figure Raph out like that so easily, "sorry we woke you up, Ava." He saw her shake her head and start to clean his wounds on his arms. She was so gentle and careful to not hurt him and he realized how small she was compared to them all. She was thin and her hands were small too. The leader realized he was staring and blushed at his own thoughts while he averted his gaze.

"Leo," She tried to get his attention when he looked away and when he looked back her way the teen girl cleaned the dirt off his face. She was careful to not hurt the cut that was on his cheek that led to his headband but it wasn't too deep or serious. She held his face still with one hand as the other worked on taking care of the wound. "I get worried when you all leave," She suddenly said and put a bandage on his cheek carefully. When their eyes met Leonardo could see the worry in her eyes.

"Seeing you guys all hurt like this," her gaze turned to his brothers who glanced at her, "it makes me wish everyone knew who was protecting them every night. We on the surface haven't done anything for you four and you all have such great sense of right and justice that it doesn't matter if you get a thanks or a pat on the back. You protect us from the Kraang and other mutants. As if you owe us but you don't owe us anything. I'm glad to have met you guys though so when the time comes I can really thank you for saving all our lazy butts."

Donnie, Mikey and Raph all smiled at her, well, Raph gave her a grin and then a shrug as if it were no big deal. Leonardo couldn't stop staring at her and how so spoke about them like they were some kind of heroes. He smiled at that thought and was glad she saw them as heroes. He wanted to be a great hero and leader and protect everyone, most of all his family, April, and Ava too. When her gaze met his again he felt his cheeks warm up and gave a silly grin with a shy chuckle.

"We're heroes, it's what we do." He replied. She hummed and smiled at him and he smiled back once more. She finished cleaning up and dressing his wounds when she saw the clock, "wow, it's really late…" She sighed, "I should head home." She grabbed her bag and left the movies for the turtles to watch.

"Let me walk you home," Leo stood with a low grunt but his body hadn't hurt that badly. He could walk her home and then back. He saw her frown at him and looked at her confused, "what?"

"You are staying here. I can walk home alone." She protested firmly, pulling her bag over her shoulder with eyes narrowed at the eldest turtle. "You're too hurt to be walking anyway and if you get attacked you'll only get hurt again…or worse." She paused at the end of her sentence and trailed off with a worried look in her eyes again.

"And if you get attacked you'll get hurt, taken or worse." Leo shot back just as firmly, "I could at least defend you from a thug or mugger." He saw her frown at him with a glare in her eyes and he did the same back. "You are _not _walking home alone at this hour."

"You are _not _walking me home in your condition, Leo." The teen girl replied. She would stand her ground but he wasn't going to give up either, "I'm letting you get hurt because of me."

"And I'm not letting you get hurt because I decided to let you walk home alone in the dead of night in New York City." His voice rose slightly at her and she seemed surprised by the firmness in his tone, "I'm walking you home, Ava." He walked past her and ignored his aching muscles when he walked. He felt a little bad for getting so serious but he wouldn't let her get hurt if he could do something to help her. Yeah she had walked home in New York plenty of times but he felt he had to make sure she was safe. Things were getting dangerous and fast with the growing war with the Kraang and Foot Clan.

Ava looked at his brothers who all had been staring the whole time and huffed heavily, blowing her hair out of her face in defeat. They shrugged at her and knew once Leo had his mind set it couldn't be changed. Ava groaned, "Yes mom." The girl grumbled. She followed Leo to the entrance of the lair and left with him. Her arms crossed over her chest she sulked as she had lost the argument and also at the fact that Leo was obviously in pain. They reached a manhole and she went up first. She ignored Leo and peeked out to make sure it was clear before she moved the manhole cover aside and climbed out. She heard Leo grunt and saw he was having troubles so she offered her hand to help him out.

"I told you I can walk myself him, Leo." She reminded him when he took her hand and hoisted him up out of the hole. They put the cover back on the hole and she looked around the ally, "seems pretty safe so far," She shrugged but he gave her a frown, "what?"

"I'm not leaving you out here alone. It's not safe." The turtle stated firmly again, pointing in no general direction, "everyday the streets are getting more and more dangerous. As your friend and a hero I need to make sure you make it home safely late at night and…what?" He was cut off when she had given him an amused smile to hold back her giggles. "Why are you laughing?"

"You're cute. Mr. Hero." She shook her head and walked past him to the street. She knew he had thought of himself as a hero but hearing him talk like that was too cute and rather amusing. The turtle followed her path but on the rooftops to stay out of sight.

The leader smiled childishly, "She thinks I'm cute…" he whispered to himself. She viewed them as heroes and she called him cute with such an adorable look on her face it made him blush. "Is this how Donnie feels around April…?" He asked himself and pondered on it as he kept an eye on the girl as she walked down the street to her apartment complex.

The turtle knew it was silly to like a human girl and it was even more silly to think anything more than friendship could be formed between the two species but something about her was different. He made her anxious, nervous, happy, and flustered all at the same time. He couldn't help but worry about her constantly, think about her when she was away or even when she was right next to him. Her smile was cute, her voice was always something he liked to hear and just how normal she was complimented just how not normal he was.

Ava could feel Leo watching her closely but that wasn't what bothered her. What bothered her was that he was willing to put her safety before his own and how he was up there keeping a look out for danger when he knew she would be just fine. She grew up in New York and she knew how to stay safe on the streets thanks to her friend Casey. She reached her apartment and saw Leo on the rooftop next to her place. She motioned him to wait and rushed inside her home, up the stairs to her bedroom and opened her window. She motioned him to jump down her to her window and he seemed to look worried and confused by the gesture.

"What's up?" He asked when he reached her window. He let his eyes gaze behind her and into her room to see it was pretty normal but had a few posters and a desk with a laptop and her bed that was right next to her window. His eyes rested back onto the human before him and she was staring at him so seriously it made him freeze and his cheeks warm up again. He didn't say anything and waited for her to speak.

Ava wanted to scold Leo for walking her home in his condition when it was obvious she got home safely and he could have been home resting in his bed but she knew she couldn't scold him for his kindness. Her frown turned into a soft smile, "Thanks for walking me home, Leo." She reached out of her window and put her arms around his neck to hug him, careful of his wound and sighed. "But you need to take care of yourself too, alright?"

The hug surprised the ninja but he nodded and hugged her back briefly, his arms and hands felt light when he moved them, as if he was nervous to touch her. "Alright," When she let go he gave a goofy grin that made her smile at him again.

"Good night, Mr. Hero." Ava yawned and that was when Leo knew it was his queue to leave. He gave her a two finger salute just before he left and she waved back in reply and then closed her window with a heavy sigh, "…please be safer from now on guys…" She clenched the edge of her window seal with so much worry in her chest and tone it made her heave a loud breath. She was worried for the four turtles and how they risked their lives every night for a city that never thanked them let alone knew the danger it was in.

The week passed and it was a pretty normal week for Ava in her home life and her school life. Her mother's condition hadn't gotten worse but it hadn't gotten better either. School was as boring as ever and during her classes she was distracted by her thoughts about the turtles. She doodled them in her daily journal she kept with her thoughts and events from the day. It was a way for her to look back at her daily life to see any changes in it or herself. She realized she was constantly worried about her mother and the turtles. She felt anxious all the time to know how they were, if they were safe, if they were healthy and most of all, if her mother would get well soon. Sometimes she would get so anxious and worried it made her sick or her chest felt tight and it was hard to breath.

She actually decided to go to Casey's hockey practice twice that week if she didn't have too much homework to do. She missed spending time with her childhood friend and after one of the practices he treated her to her favorite milkshake, coconut cream pie. Casey always got a double chocolate hot fudge milk shake and said her coconut cream pie was gross.

"Seriously though Ava how can you like that coconut stuff?" The teen boy made a grossed out face and cringed as if he had taken a taste of it and were poisoned.

"How can you handle that much chocolate?" She shot back but then drank more of her shake and hummed happily at how it tasted. "I miss this," She told him honestly, "I used to hang out with you a lot but now I'm just so busy that I don't get any time to relax."

"Yeah I know man, you've always been so much fun but lately you're just boring." He teased with a pout and Ava just elbowed him playfully with a laugh. "You also used to laugh and smile a lot more before everything went downhill." Casey pointed out and noticed how Ava looked down sadly at his words, "Aw geez don't give me that look!" He ruffled her hair and messed it up which made her glare at him, "how about we go to the arcade this weekend? Before or after your shift it doesn't matter. We're going, like old times!"

"Casey I,"

"Casey Jones doesn't take no for an answer," He interrupted her before she could reply and Ava knew that of all the boys she knew, including the turtles, she could never win an argument with Casey so she just gave a heavy sigh and nodded,

"Fine I'll go to the arcade but it's your treat!" She finished her milkshake and tossed it in a nearby trashcan. "I have a morning shift Saturday and I get off at noon. I'll meet you at the usual place around one, got it?"

"Go it," Casey grinned and showed off his few missing front teeth, "it's a date then!" He put on his skates and nudged her, "right?"

"So not a date," The girl crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes at the hockey player, "I'll see you later Jones." Waving as he left she sighed heavily and entered her apartment. Her uncle wasn't home, again, but it didn't bring her down. Her week had been going rather nicely and so far she had felt at ease, for the most part.

"Alright guys ready for our nightly watch?" Leonardo announced to his brother's as he sheathed his blades he had just sharpened.

He hadn't heard from Ava all week but during school and after she never contacted them or visited. It was almost the weekend and the two days a week he knew they would see Ava was growing closer and closer. He wanted to show her some new moves he had learned and watch more movies with her. He remembered the short hug they shared. He remembered how warm she was, how light and sweet her scent was and also how smalls he was in his large turtle arms. They were nearly the same height only he was an inch or two taller than the teen girl. The days seemed to drag on a little longer since he walked her home that night as he grew anxious to see her again. She had a T-Phone and waited for a call or text, even if it was for an emergency only she could still use her own cell she owned but she never messaged any of them. He didn't let it get him down though; he knew she would visit as soon as she could.

As he and his brothers ran along the rooftops he spotted her apartment complex and skidded to a halt, "is something wrong bro?" Mikey asked his eldest brother who looked at him and gave a shrug.

"That's Ava's place," He pointed to the window and saw it was dimly lit but she might be awake still. All his brothers glanced at the window and Donnie couldn't help but grin at his brother.

"Aw, you wanna go say hi to your girlfriend?" He teased with a huge grin, his gap showing proudly as he did so. He laughed childishly and pointed at Leo, "I get why you guys tease me about it. It's fun to do."

His brother didn't seem as amused and he glared at his tall brother, "She's not my girlfriend," He sighed and turned his back to her apartment, "c'mon we still have more patrolling to do." As badly as he wanted to say hi to his teen friend he didn't want to bother her or seem like he was watching her. She might get upset if she thought he was watching over her apartment, which wasn't such a bad idea but still it wasn't a good idea either.

The next day Ava seemed in a daze as she skated to school. Her Uncle would be gone for a week for work in another city to build a new apartment complex; which meant she would be home alone for a whole week. At least she had a hang out day with Casey planned that weekend so she wouldn't be so alone. Maybe she would visit the turtles more this next week since her Uncle would be out of town on a job and he wouldn't ask questions. Not that he was around enough to notice she was gone for hours on end at night. Letting out a heavy sigh she turned the corner only to bump into someone.

"Oof!" She stumbled backwards but was caught by her wrist and dangled there for a moment, "sorry," She apologized and then realized it was Casey Jones, "oh, Casey," She laughed shyly and regained her balance. "I wasn't paying attention,"

"Yeah I could tell," He raised his brow at her and looked her over before he leaned in close to her face with narrowed eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked and that look on her face told him she was going to act dumb but he knew better. He knew her for years and he knew when she spaced out like that either something was on her mind that was making her upset or she was dwelling on something. "C'mon, tell Casey Jones what is that troubles you." He tried to sound sophisticated and got her to roll her eyes at him.

"I'm fine," She replied with a tome expression, "Uncle is just gone for the next week is all." She shrug it off and skated past him, "you're gonna be late Jones." She called over her shoulder, rushing to school before the bell rang. She managed to get to her locker and removed her skates just in time to get to class. One her way she spotted April and waved to her and the red head waved back with her usual smile.

The day went on and it was pretty boring but during lunch April sat next to her, she normally sat alone or with Casey when he wasn't outside skating around with his hockey stick and puck. The teachers had all given up on him since he managed to stay in class, keep his grades decent and not break property, most of the time that is.

"So, have you seen the guys lately?" April asked, taking a bite of her sandwich afterwards. Ava didn't reply for a while and April wasn't sure if she should ask what was up or if she should just wait.

"I was there Sunday," Ava finally replied and poked at her food absentmindedly, "the guys were hurt pretty badly so I helped Leo with his wounds and he insisted on walking me home in his condition." She grumbled the last part with an irritated expression but April just smiled at her friend, "I was fine walking home alone but he had to be stubborn and insist that it was too dangerous and that I needed him to watch over me as I walked home."

"Yeah, that sounds like Leo. He's pretty protective of his friends and family." The red head noted aloud as if it was something instantly noticeable with the leader of the turtles. "Is that what is really bothering you?"

"Hm," Ava glanced up at April and sighed heavily, "not really, I'm not sure what it is but I just was a bit upset that he wouldn't stay home and rest but I think there's more to it, I'm just not sure yet…I feel this way sometimes about people who are stubborn when their hurt or sick."

"Like your mother?" April asked cautiously as she didn't want to upset her friend but Ava seemed calm about it as her friend nodded in reply, "It's understandable. Beside you're just as stubborn as Leo." She teased, nudging her friend with her elbow.

Ava gave an eye roll at April's teasing, "Maybe but boys have this pride that makes them even more stubborn and irritating!" She growled in frustration while April agreed with a soft laugh.

The rest of day went on at a normal pace and nothing interesting happened. She did get a call from the boys for another strange order of a pizza since it was a Friday night she did have work. "Tell Mikey we can't put that on the pizza but I'll bring some over so he can put it on himself the next time I come over." Ava grumbled over the phone and wrote down the order for the turtles, "tell April it'll be fourteen dollars and eight cents."

"Thanks Ava," Leo said over the phone but the paused for a moment, "hey Ava will you be here tomorrow?" He asked quietly over the phone so that his brother's couldn't hear. He didn't want them teasing him again. Now he knew how Donnie felt when he was teased about April.

"Actually I work tomorrow morning and after work I'm hanging out with a childhood friend. If I'm not too tired afterwards I'll come over and crash. I have to go now, by Leo." She hung up after he said bye back and felt her manager eyeing her, "he's not my boyfriend!"

"Sure he's not," Said manager with a sarcastic eye roll and then a wink.

Ava tried to ignore it and get back to her job. By the time she was off work it was pretty late and she was exhausted so she took a quick warm shower and then flopped on her bed with a dramatic sigh. Her comfy pajama pants and baggy long sleeve shirt were more than enough to make her fall asleep but the softness of her bed increased her drowsiness. Just as soon as she fell asleep her alarm went off for her to wake up for another day of work. Groaning tiredly she reached for her phone and put the alarm on snooze. After ten minutes it went off again and this time she sat up with her phone in hand. She glared at her phone and at the time. She really didn't want to go to work but she had too so she turned the alarm off and got up out of bed. She felt sluggish having back to back shifts but it was a usual routine of her weekly life. School, homework, work, the turtles and then more work. As she was pulling her pants on she heard her phone buzz and saw a text from Casey. She had forgotten about their hang out after work and suddenly felt energy course through her. She finished getting dressed for work, ate a quick breakfast and then made her way to work. The day started out rather quickly but the closer to she got to the end of her shift the longer the moments seemed to last.

"Finally!" Ava cheered, removing her hat and rushing to clock out so she could go home and change out of her work clothes. "Arcade with Casey and oh, maybe our usual frozen yogurt shop too!" She texted Casey and said she was on her way but his reply made her eyes roll; he wanted to race her to the usual spot. "Dang it Casey," the teen girl hurried to get dressed and snatched her skates on her out of her room. Locking the door behind her she raced down the path to their usual spot by the arcade. Knowing Casey he might have been there already but that didn't stop her from trying. When she arrived she saw Casey turn the corner and rush to touch the wall of the arcade store.

"Casey Jones wins it again!" He cheered loudly, arms in the air in victory. "His opponent Ava makes it in a close second but sadly still can't defeat the master!" He laughed at her pouting bottom lip as she removed her skates, put them in her bag and put her shoes on.

"Yeah, yeah," She huffed, "you got lucky this time Jones. Let's go," She motioned to the Arcade as he put his shoes on. The first game they played was Future Crisis which was a two player shooter game. They always played that game first when they went to the arcade.

"Eat my grenade scum!" Casey shouted at the game while Ava ducked and threw a grenade too. After the explosion they both aimed for a flammable barrel that exploded when shot. "I hope they like barbequed robots!"

"Get ready for the boss Casey!" Ava reloaded her gun, "I have my laser rounds still." She switched to her laser rounds and got ready for the boss fight, "go!" She used her laser rounds to break the shield while Casey used his explosive rounds to deal the damage. "I only have enough laser rounds to break one more shield."

"Aw man this better do enough damage!" Casey shot at the enemy after the second shield was down and dealt just enough damage to destroy the boss, "oh yeah that's right! You don't mess with the Casey Ava combo!"

"Haha, yeah but you always waste your laser rounds so we have to push through the final stage." She rolled her eyes at her friend, "c'mon," they walked around the arcade and found a few games they pointed at and talked about the memories they had as kids. They played a few fighting games and had random scores of wins, losses and ties. Ava always won the racing games though and Casey never knew how she could beat him in a racing game when she couldn't win in real life.

"Yo, let's go get some frozen yogurt." Casey pulled on Ava's arm when she lost in a game she used to be really good at. "Man that was fun!" He put his arm around her shoulders, "we need to do this more often and you also need to come to my hockey games more too." The teen boy poked his friend's cheek playfully but she swatted his hand away.

"I'll try but work keeps me busy and tired. Not to mention the tests coming up in a couple weeks for winter break." She heard Casey groan and move his arm away from her shoulders, "what?"

"Can you not talk about work, school and not to mention the tests," Casey opened the door to the frozen yogurt shop for Ava, "I don't want to think about any of those things. Now let's get some frozen yogurt and talk about something else."

"Alright," She was about to walk into the shop when her phone rang and she saw it was an unknown number, "that's weird," answering the call she held the phone to her ear, "hello?"

"Hello, is this Ava?" It was a deep gruff voice she had never heard before.

"This is she, who is asking?"

"This is the emergency medical team and we were told to call you. Your Uncle is in the hospital with very server injuries. The building's support beam gave out during construction and collapsed onto the workers. He's alive and will be just fine after about a month but for now he will remain in our hospital for about two weeks until we can relocate him back to your home."

Ava grew really quiet and looked directly at Casey who knew instantly something was up so he closed the door and waited for her call to end. Ava swallowed hard before she spoke again, "Uh…um I," She took in a deep breath to calm down, "th-thank you for calling…you're sure he'll be alright? Yeah….okay…thank you for your help…yeah that's our address. Thank you sir." Hanging up the phone Ava put it in her pocket and grabbed her skates out of her backpack, "I…I have to go," She hurried to put her skates on even as Casey grabbed her shoulders.

"Ava," His voice was serious but she didn't look at him, "what happened?"

"Just…an accident at a construction site is all. He'll be fine but he won't be home for a couple weeks." She snapped the clasps of the skates and then put her shoes into her backpack. "I'm gonna take care of some of the expenses and get his medical information to fax to the hospital."

"Ava hold on," He made her look at him and saw the fear in her eyes, the same fear she had whenever she came back from visiting her mother in the hospital, "do you want me to stay over tonight?"

"N-No, you have practice, right? I'll be fine. I just wanna be alone right now." Standing she pulled away from Casey, "today was fun. We'll do it again as soon as I can. Later." Turning on her heel she sped off before Casey could stop her.

She hadn't realized how much time they had spent at the Arcade as the sun was starting to set already but she had things to do. When she got home she removed and tossed aside her skates. She the realized she had turned down comfort from Casey, her best friend, her only really close friend but why? She didn't want to trouble him. He had his hockey to worry about and she didn't need to pull him away from it but something in her told her she didn't want to run to Casey for comfort anymore. She pushed those thoughts aside so she could focus on all the medical information she had to fax to the hospital along with the payments for his treatments. Not to mention her mother's medical payments needed to be taken care of. She spent hours on the computer getting it everything done and once she had finished she felt all her worries welling in her eyes. She hadn't shed a single tear during it all because she had been so focused but now, now she wanted to cry but she didn't want to be alone. She could call Casey but he was at practice or rather, heading home from late night practice and he had a little sister that he always played with after his games. She couldn't rely on Casey all the time eve if she hadn't done it in a long, long while.

"Dad's gone…mom is away at a hospital and now Uncle Jessie is in the hospital. Not to mention the turtles are out every night fighting mutants, ninja and aliens…" She sat at her kitchen chair with her eyes locked on the laptop screen.

She wasn't looking at anything on it as she was just lost in thought. Worry washed over her as she felt her body start to shake. She couldn't handle losing her Uncle too. She couldn't handle losing her mother and she couldn't handle the turtles getting hurt or worse. She remembered how upset she got as a kid when Casey would lose teeth from playing hockey or get hurt when bullies would mess with her. Maybe it was a silly thing to worry about or get upset over but she knew she wouldn't be able to handle anyone else getting hurt, leaving or dying. That last thought made her body tense and a cold chill ran down her spine. She started to breathe heavily as she felt an anxiety attack start to make its way through her. She hadn't had one since her mother was first hospitalized. Usually Casey or her Uncle would be around but she didn't want Casey, no, she didn't need his comfort she needed someone else there with her to calm her nerves. She rummaged through her backpack and found her T-Phone. It wasn't an exact emergency but this was the fastest way to get the person, or rather turtle that she needed to her side as soon as possible.

"Did you see the look on that guys face when I jumped him and did that cool back flip?" Mikey noted something cool he did during their patrol as they entered the lair.

"Not as cool as that guy I beat to a pulp and tossed into that trash can." Raph tried to one up Mikey with his usual smug grin. He picked up Spike from the couch and put him on his shoulder, "hey buddy." He greeted his little friend with a gentle nudge to his cheek with his large turtle finger.

"That wasn't nearly as cool as," Leo was cut off when his T-Phone went off and when he saw the caller I.D. he felt a sudden wash of worry fall over him. "Ava?" He muttered just as before he answered the call. "Ava, what's up?" He answered quickly but she didn't reply, "Hello? Ava?" He spoke up again and heard a heavy breath from the other side of the line followed by a sniffle. "Is everything okay?"

"L-Leo?" She finally replied but her voice sounded quiet and strained over the phone. The sound of her voice in distress caused Leonardo to grow even more worried. "I-I know you told me that the T-Phone was only for emergencies but I…I really need someone here right now. I'm home alone so…can you come over?"

"Sure we'll be right over,"

"No…just…just you, please. I don't want anyone else to see me like this or to worry I just need you here." She cut him off quickly and released a heavy sob before she spoke again, "I just want you here right now, please." Her voice broke a few times as she tried to hold in her sobs and heavy breathing.

Leo looked at his brothers and then at his father who walked into the room to go to the kitchen for some tea when he saw the look in his eldest son's eyes. "Give me a second," He moved the phone away from his head and looked to his brothers and father, "Ava…says she wants me to head over there….she sounds like she's really upset."

"Do not keep her waiting, Leonardo. Ava must have encountered something very upsetting if she has called you at this late hour. Be safe on the way there my son." Splinter wasn't a fool and he knew that Leonardo couldn't turn his back on a friend in need. His brothers nodded in agreement for him to go.

"Your girlfriend needs you bro," Donnie grinned at Leo who frowned at him.

"Ava are you still there?"

"Y-Yeah…" She felt her body shaking again and her tears starting to fall faster, "I'm here"

"I'm on my way just sit tight." Without another word he hung up and rushed out of the lair as fast as he could and to the surface, heart pounding with worry for his new friend.

**A/N: Thanks for reading and please REVIEW**


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